people who call schools after not hearing anything for a while

[saki0005]

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i've heard of several people doing this and successfully being offered interviews on the spot. how did you manage this? did you just bust out with "can i interview" or what?

 

[constructor]

yah, that's exactly how it's done!

 

[saki0005]

are you being sarcastic? don't be sarcastic because i will totally call a school tomorrow and be like "any openings". and i will feel so stupid if they hang up on me. are you being sarcastic?

 

[GuyLaroche]

Be soft spoken, and express your concerns about not hearing. I prefer writing to the admissions directors/ deans. This is a much nicer way I think. Calling puts you to busy secretaries who are answering the same question for the millionth time. They are bound to be irritable and not helpful. Although my soft-spoken approach is very disarming, I find. In October when I was worried about Columbia, the angry lady who answers the phones was really nice to me because I addressed her in the most polite, soft-spoken way.

 

[lightnk102]

i'd be careful about making any assumptions like "if i call, it will speed up the process or get me an interview."

in most cases, when you call, you're speaking to a secretary who checks on the status of your file. in the examples where people call and are given an interview, it's usually because they've already been reviewed by the committee and are on the list for an invitation to begin with, but the appropriate people haven't gotten around to sending out the invitation yet. I've been calling the 10 schools I haven't heard from, and 2 of them happened to have me on their "email invitation" list. The other ones told me I was either 1) in committee (so they couldn't even check my file to make sure my update letter had arrived) or 2) on hold.

 

[saki0005]

i just called all my schools and the result i received was that i will have a note on each of my files expressing "my sincere interest in the school...i will be in town during the following dates and look forward to the opportunity of interviewing..."
a result nonetheless...at least i'm getting somewhere.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

i'd be careful about making any assumptions like "if i call, it will speed up the process or get me an interview."

in most cases, when you call, you're speaking to a secretary who checks on the status of your file. in the examples where people call and are given an interview, it's usually because they've already been reviewed by the committee and are on the list for an invitation to begin with, but the appropriate people haven't gotten around to sending out the invitation yet. I've been calling the 10 schools I haven't heard from, and 2 of them happened to have me on their "email invitation" list. The other ones told me I was either 1) in committee (so they couldn't even check my file to make sure my update letter had arrived) or 2) on hold.

Well i found at a couple of schools the only way i would have found out of interview invites was by calling...otherwise it would have taken weeks longer. So in those cases it definitely did speed up the process.

 

[Chankovsky]

is it too late to call now?

 

[Tra La La]

i've heard of several people doing this and successfully being offered interviews on the spot. how did you manage this? did you just bust out with "can i interview" or what?

I don't know...some admissions offices can be down-right rude or get angry when they receive such phone calls.

 

[Haybrant]

Well i found at a couple of schools the only way i would have found out of interview invites was by calling...otherwise it would have taken weeks longer. So in those cases it definitely did speed up the process.

care to divulge which schools it will speed up the process by calling? im making an east coast swing soon so it would be nice to know before i book my flights. thanks!

 

[saki0005]

I don't know...some admissions offices can be down-right rude or get angry when they receive such phone calls.

cough cough tulane cough cough 😉

 

[boardchic]

care to divulge which schools it will speed up the process by calling? im making an east coast swing soon so it would be nice to know before i book my flights. thanks!

I think if you're going to be in the area, it's not at all inappropriate to call all of the schools in that area telling them the dates you'll be around. Sometimes they just add a note to your file, but sometimes it will make them look at your file and decide whether or not they're going to interview you. In fact, I called one school to ask about the status of my app and the secretary was like, "are there any date you'll be in the area?"